This inner drive helped her handle a negative turn in her marriage in 2009. She shares that her husband was no longer the loving father and husband he once was. In Africa, Rougie says, a woman is expected to find her identity within the confides of her marriage, and the shame of a broken home is often borne by the woman. She was thus conflicted when her husband decided to stop working, leaving her as the sole breadwinner. “In an African home, the man stands as a man, always as protector and provider,” she says. Rougie’s self-image was wounded, but she managed to hide her true disappointment. She describes herself as a victim of financial abuse, which made it difficult for her to continue supporting her family back in Africa – a vital expectation for immigrants, as about 30% of all income earned by immigrants ends up back in their home countries. In 2010, Rougie miscarried her sixth child; her husband told her to “get over it.” Rougie convinced herself that everything was okay. “I couldn’t be depressed,” she says. “After all, we have been conditioned to say, “too blessed to be stressed.’” In Memoriam We honor the memory of these wonderful women and the mark they left on this world. Jennifer Kempton 2016 FEATURED WOMAN Stephanie Claytor 2014 FEATURED WOMAN Her drive to soldier on pushed her to create what she calls a survival mask. Under the mask, she uses her power to influence, and even to intimidate through sheer force, for good. Her natural authority drives her to play, teach, learn and grow. Her competence and enthusiasm attracts people with resources, as exemplified by Life Coach, a Christian cancer patients’ charity through which she helped raise $119,000 in three weeks’ time. Rougie naturally radiates confidence, which persuades people to defer to her. In all this, she always exudes a kind of controlled benevolence, which is what makes her truly a Kumba by name. Elizabeth Harris 2018 FEATURED WOMAN Crystal Adams 2020 FEATURED WOMAN Kumba M. Lebbie Kumba is a 2021 writer for EnVision Proven Success. 38 | ENVISION PROVEN SUCCESS MAGAZINE Karen Ezirim 2015 FEATURED WOMAN
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